The new game from Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki and his new Valhalla Game Studios development outfit saw its promised debut today during a Spike TV E3 special. The game is titled "Devil's Third" and is being published by THQ on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

A short trailer showed gun play and melee combat in an urban environment. You can see that trailer for yourself at GameTrailers.com.

As promised earlier in the week at the Valhalla home page, a number of websites followed up on the unveiling with interviews with Itagaki. You can read Kotaku's interview for English commentary from Itagaki and THQ representatives. I've translated a bit of what was said in the Famitsu interview here.

The site asked Itagaki about his goals for Devil's Third. "We've always battled with the mainstream of the current era," responded Itagaki. "This time, it's the same. At present, one of the biggest trends is the shooter, and we've decided to fight here. However, there's no point in making a standard shooter. We're making a shooter that only Valhalla could make."

Devil's Third is set in a world following Kessler Syndrome, a hypothetical situation where low orbit satellites have become so densely packed that they begin to collide, leading to a cascading effect where the satellite debris further collide and litter space with so much junk that exploration becomes impossible.

Itagaki refers to the game's background story as being the "most realistic setting yet" amongst all his games. He says it has a "serious script." That script is apparently still in development, but Itagaki says they're working with Hollywood script writers while also working in Japanese qualities. Aside from the Kessler Syndrome background setting, he would not reveal further story details.

Concept art.

One of the big surprises is that the game is multiplatform for both PS3 and Xbox 360. Given Itagaki's history at Team Ninja, many had been expecting an Xbox 360 exclusive release. Asked about the selection of platforms, Itagaki said, "This way, a greater number of fans would be able to play it."

Valhalla is working on the PS3 version. In fact, Itagaki says they created a team specifically for making the game multiplatform. "If we didn't write the game engine code, it wouldn't be 'Devil's Third.' Engineers who wrote code for the PlayStation 3 CELL and RSX are also taking part." He also said that they're receiving support from THQ.

While THQ did not share release information, Itagaki hinted that the two versions would arrive simultaneously. "If you do it multiplatform, a simultaneous release becomes a requirement," said Itagaki. The reason for this, he said, is that if you don't do a simultaneous release, you get stuck in endless cycle where neither the developer nor the player ends up happy.

The game looks like it's a ways off. Asked about the development state, Itagaki responded with a somewhat noncommittal "about 5 to 10%." "We've just started work. Of course, the base game engine is done." He also said to expect some interesting things during multiplayer combat, confirming that this will be a part of the game.

Closing off his comments with Famitsu, Itagaki said "We made you wait quite some time, but we've at last been able to make the announcement. We have great appreciation for those who have been looking forward to it. Having made fighting and sword action, we're challenging a new genre. We're making a game one would expect of Valhalla, so please look forward to the day when you can play it."